Machine for sorting and selecting sheets or printed forms



June 2, 1953 J. ZALKIND 2,640,485

MACHINE FOR SORTING AND SELECTING SHEETS OR PRINTED FORMS Filed April 5, 1949 J 2 Sheets-Sheet l ArronFvzy J. ZALKIND June 2, 1953 MACHINE FOR SORTING AND SELECTING SHEETS OR PRINTED FORMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5, 1949 ENTOR.

ATTORNEY JOSEPH ZALK/ND Patented June 2, 1953 MACHINE FOR SORTING'AND'SELEGTillG v stree s on PRINTED FORMS Joseph Zalikind, N

v tie ed.

Application nerds, 1949 ,;Serial 85,484

This invention perta s to a machine {for zsortingand selecting sheets, rinted forms, cards and like materials iroma batch or; stachand has a particular application for sorting and selecting forms of th general typev set forth iii-United States patents i issued to the present inventor, Joseph Zalkind, said patents .beingNo. a,B13,,285 for a Sortable Multiple Form, issued: March 9, 1943,;and Patent:.l\lo.;2,359,705 for a, Machine for Sorting and Separating 4 "Sheets or Printed Forms, .is sued October 3, vl94ls. a.

\Ehroughout the-specification and claims,.;the words, forms or sheets" may be used, and it isito be understood that the sheets or, forms may besheets of ,anymaterial, printediorm-s cards or." the like; io r any; other filing; element having distinguishingstructural characteristics,-- such as slots, perforations, notches, or; the liketo, hermit adequate? keying of opposing end areas of the sheetsorIormsl-e 1 i v chains It is the object of the present invention; to provide-,amachinefor sorting and selecting sheets orhfqrms Joy employinga :novel means for, sorta ing and/or-selecting desired sheets or forms from a batch or staclgof. multiple forms. Fre uently, the desired selection may be for thecolor of the form, the printed material on -saidiorm or other classified data, such as states, cities, counties and t w s, f .v 1,

A further object of the invention isto provide a, .mechani sm for sorting and/or selecting v oer-- tain-jorrns from a stack; of forms and for: withdrawingsaidiormslomsaid stack by a nov andsimplifiedoperation. I I

A further object of he. inv nt onlis thepmvision of a machine having adjnstableguida means adaptable for forms of various ,dimensionsend wherein a. novelh selection device is; operated; to determine the form selectedto be withdrawn from h s a k of: o m and an el m ans 0 with liaw e t e fqrmsla s l ii om the-Ma similowtheseiected terms to be removed by a single simplified operation; i V v A further object f m tise nd sei c-t w machine for sorting and e e t Q m$-. O 1l a stack vbystrip-loving:a rant of n l a i en opposineedaes o th t c m and: wh n t ei dl swtya n e p t on. e m ved nt ree trv ithhe keyed portions of the forms on the opposingieclges ofp the forms and wherein; :a :simple operation thereaiter m oves th selected lformst .;apositiongto facilitate removal of the selected forms m h s ka i v. 4-1. ti 1;, L

A fur r-obje f; the; invention istheprovision' of a sorting and selecting .-machine ;which q m l o. h th te w l be. a reduc d pressure.

the lev tate is a to erence 9 claims. (01. seal) between the adjacent forms from the weight of J "ill Q 1'5' T', the dorms which?avouldwordinarily exist ifnthe stack OfzfOf-IIISKWEIE normally disposed in fahorldental pcsition'thereby facilitating aperture regiStry.1.:1, r1;v on t I J lu fit l iuirther abject: of the; invention is the 1 ovisien ota-device ofith'e'class set forth, where'- i, i oval means are, provided :for simultaneous Inn tipleselection; so lthatzmore than onetype, or erouneoi selections-may ,be made simultaneously initiallywithdrawn from the stackmf mul- :tiple ion-"cs :byza singleniotionof the operator;v

v Furtherand pther objects of the inventionmay he and max become; apparent to one *skilled; in the e-rt, audit is to be understood that; the presentdisclosureis by, way of illustration on1y=,.of a preferred form of the invention. It is to besunderstoodthet changes and modifications may be made in; the invention, andlit, is not (intended that th invention should be limited except. by the scope and spirit of the subjoined claims. In-the drawings, 1, ;,Fig.; l: is a perspectiveview oftheinvention showing astack of dorms positioned on themachinel with the selected forms for the particular operation being partially withdrawn from a stack Of fOl'mS. i 1 iiw i F ii-list all tend ,viewi partially broken away oithemachineshown in Fig. 1 with the stack of formsuremoveda .i g ,lFiei 3 .is ;a-,sectional view taken substantially along lines 3,- 3..;of Fig 2, -buttwith the lower form guide means being added. a Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along-dines:, l iiof Fig. 3, showingone of the spindlesbeine latchedin position, and-with an adjacentispindle being: moved upwardly to replace the previously latched spindle; 5 dis :a sectional view taken substantially along lines, 5+5. of Fig 3-.-to...show the operating lever iunction, ,in relationitoithe bevel gears for moving the. carriage, andlals'o for. showing the meansgfior adjusting the carriage for acceptance of; iorms which may have, different. dimensional characteristics than certainother forms. i El e? 6,. a. sectional view. taken substantiall alOng. linea.6+6r of Fig; 4,.vbut. wherein the. No..l8 Spindle. .hasbeen released .and i the No. 1 spindle is latched in its, operative position... Fig; 7 Asia sectionaliviewitaken substantially lmle'iiines 1-55 of .Fig. .3, showing the latch-bar reiease in solid lines, wherein the selected-spindle 0t spindles are latched. in. place, 4- and also howing the. latchcbar release in; dottedylines, j wherein the-latohbar. is moved .to release the vpreviously. latched .up spindles carried; by the .carriage.,at-..the completion of a single operation of h operatinelevern I ,Fsig Bis a sectional View takeni substantially along lines 8730f llfigi. 1, showing-themarriage' riding onflo euofithe bars; of-the carriage guide rails, and whereinthe; pulling .spind-les.-,-.of the carriageare. in registry with the transverse slots 'oftheirontpan'el; .i e Referring to the drawings, and more partiedlevers 26 is identical. of one lever will be described in detail with attention particularly directed to Figs. 3, 4 and 6.

The front panel 22 is shown having a selecting lever guide 24 secured on the outer surface thereof with slots, such as 25, formed therein to permit movement of the selecting levers, such as 26, which levers are used for selecting any pair of complementary spindles of which there are two main groups. One group of spindles are referred to as the holding spindles, are given character references from I to 8, while the complementary set of spindles, referred to as pulling spindles,

are given character references IA to 8A, respectively. There is a complementary sliding lever 26 for each of the cooperating pair of spindles,

given character references IE to 83, respectively.

For example, operation of the lowest selecting 'lever B shown in Fig. 1 would simultaneously cause holding spindle l and pulling spindle i A to be urged upwardly through their respective aper tures in the front panel. There is one aperture in the front panel for each of the holding spindles of which a representative aperture 21 is shown 'in Fig. 3.

Thefront panel, likewise, has formed therein apertures 28 which are in the form of transverse slots to permit lateral movement of the pulling spindles, such as 3A, shown in Fig. 1.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown an end adjustment guide 29 and a bottom adjustrow of holding spindles l to 8, respectively. The

bottom adjusting guide 30 is used to lower and raise the stack on the inclined front panel 22 so that the holding spindles and pulling spindles -will be properly aligned with their respective holes or slots for proper selection and sorting of the forms.

The pulling spindles IA to 8A, respectively, are

'carried by a movable carriage 3| supported in a 'slidable carriage cradle 32 between opposing angular cradle guides 33.

The operating lever 34 when moved downwardly as shown by arrow X will cause the carriage to to each of the selecting levers, is secured to the bracket with the upper portion being bent to permit said guide plate 38 to be secured to the upper surface of the bracket by means of screws, such as 39. There is a plurality of apertures formed in the upper portion of the latch guide plate 38 to permit the holding spindles to be movably inserted therethrough. The lower portion of the latch guide plate 38 is secured to one side move to the right as may be seen in Figs. 1 and 3, so that any one or more of the pulling spindles will likewise be caused to move to the right 'and withdraw the corresponding selected forms from the stack, as shown inFig. 1. At the completion of the downward movement of the operating lever 34, a spring 35 (Fig. 3) causes the carriage 3| to be moved to the left or restored to its normal position, and the operating lever 34 The operation of any one of these selecting Therefore, the operation A bracket 36 is secured in an inclined position between the base and back portions of the suption of the front holding spindles, such as hold-- ing spindle 5, shown in Fig. 3,

A latch guide plate 38, having a plurality of elongated slots therein, one slot corresponding of the bracket 36 by means of screws 40. The lower ends of the latch guide plate 38 are bent inwardly to form stopmeans 4! for the spindle latch 42. The lower end of each of these spindles has a reduced portion 43 which has the spindle latch 42 secured thereon and with a rubber stop 44 frictionally held on the end of each of the reduced portions 43.

An expansion spring 45 is movably disposed on each of the holding spindles with the upper end of the spring engaging the bent portion of the latch guide plate 38, while the lower portion of the spring engages the upper surface of the spindle latch 42. The purpose of the spring is to normally hold the spindle in its retracted or inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 3.

The rubber stop 44 engages the guide pin control bar 46 and is intended to provide noiseless contact for engagement with the guide pin control bar 46. The latch bar 41 has a pair of slots 48 formed therein to permit headed studs 49 to be inserted therethrough and secured to the bracket 36, to permit lateral motion of the-latch bar.

A spring 53 has one end thereof connected to one of the studs 48 (Fig. 4) with the opposing end thereof connected to a flange 5| formed on the latch bar. Latch tongues, such as 52, having camming surfaces as shown, are formed on the lower portion of the latch bar with one tongue being positioned for holding each of its respective spindle latches '42. When the guide pin control bar 46 is moved upwardly, the rubber stop 44 is engaged by said control bar and urges the spindle latch 42 upwardly until it engages the camming surface formed on the lower portion of the latch tongue 52, causing the latch bar to be moved to the left, as shown in Fig. 4, until the spindle latch 42 slides off of the camming surface and rests on the upper portion of the latch tongue 52, at which time the latch bar 41 will be urged to the right (Fig. 4) under influence of the spring 56 to cause the spindle latch to be retained in its uppermost position and locked in this uppermost or operative position by the latch bar.

: then each spindle, as it is moved, will release the preceding spindle so that only the last actuated spindle will remainin the upper position. However, if for any reason it is desired to restore all of the holding spindles to their normal inoperative position, the latch bar release 54 may be pressed inwardly to cause operation of the latch bar and thereby release any spindle or spindles 5 so that they restate their normal operating positibn:

Referring to the pulling spindles which are disposed-on the c'arr'iage' 3 lithe construction of said spindles in relation to the latch bar 4?,the latch guide plate 38, the spindle latch 42, and the-hop posing upper and lower bent edges the latch guide" plate 38 ar'e ident'ical with=the corresponding member's shoe-"11 in conjunction with the'hold irig' spindles.- However, reduced portionllt' shown on the lower ends of 1 the pulling' spindles doesnbt have arubber stop; since the lowerend of the pulling spindles' is slightly spaced from-theguid'e pin control bar 46 when themachine is in anorm'ally inoperative position} as shown in Fig; 3;

The latch guide p1ate-3'3'forth'eholding spindles and'thepulling spindles has theslots for the spindlelatohes open to the-bottom thereoi so that the guide pin control bar @6' may engage the-lower end of both-the holding spindlesian'd the pulling spindles with the'upper portion of opposing ends of theguide pin control-bar being inserted inthe slots provided for the spindle latches to'act a's-a guide meanstherefor. Each of the selecting levers 2B is l '-'shaped,having-one end thereof terminating in a handle portion -55, whichextends throughthe slots" 56" formed in the" selecting lever guideM. The opposing: end of eachof said-selecting levers=is 'pivotally' connected by a pin 51*to theguide' pincontrol bar somewhere in the middle portionthe-reof approximately asshown' vin-Fi'g. 3; A stop pin 8 4 is secured to each of the-selecting levers 2S and affords a-limitin'g-"means for the left end of each of theguidepincontrol bars-d5. A rubber stop 58 is piaced on the lower portion of the carriage 32-so-that ail of'the-gu'ide pin control bars at will noiselessly engage and-rest thereon when the control bars are in the-position as shown in Fig. 3.

A shaft 59 has'o'pposing ends thereof-heldby a pair of arms Bil-which areformed on the leftside 0f the bracket 36; Cotter pins Bi' are used on opposing end of the shaft; on the-Router surfaces of the arms SE to hold the shaft=59 in place. Spacers-62 (Fig; 6) are positioned be'tween'the adjacent selecting'levers 265110 properly position and align said selecting-levers inthe machine; The selecting levers as are freely movable on the shaft 59, and under influence of springs =63'whioh are connected to the supportingstructure and the selectinglever 2E, assist in returning the selecting levers 26 to the normal positionas shown in Fig. 3, at which time theguide pin control bar- 46 is also returned to its normal position by gravity actuation, assisted by the influence of the spindle springs such as-45. There is one spring,

suchas 63; for each of the-selectingleverszfi.

Thecarriage 3| has channel-portions E4 formed longitudinally on opposingsides thereof-,andeach of said channels ,rideson its-respective guide-rail 65 a tokeep the carriage properly aligned and to permit-said carriage *to be moved-fromleft to right so-that the-pulling spindle or spindles may be moved in their transverse slots 28 during-the sorting and separating operation.

The latchloar -41 carried by the carriage 3! has anautomatic spindle restoring means which operatesto restoreany and all spindles to a normal positiofiwhen the"'carrialge"nits/esto its eitr'eme position tdiifa' theTri'ghFof the "machine, as shown in Fig. 3. A latch bar release 66 is secured' td the latch bar 4'! and has acarmn'ing surface thereon'whiohengages'the latch barreleas'e stop 61 whenthecarriagefis maven Ito its extreme'position'totherighti The latcllibar release 456 shown in dOtted-Iine's-inTig. iyirldiiates that the latch bar 4! has been move'daso that any of the spindle latches which were held-ppw'ardly; in their operative position; will he released when thexcarriage is moved; to its extreme position to the right; The guide raiisyliii; are shown connected to the carriage crarilefl by means of screws 68. 4

The operation of thecarriage movement may be bestseenrin Fig. 5,1wherein theoperatinglever 341's shown-securedto the shaft'fi' by means of spin .70; A-threaded-col-lar-{His inserted through an" aperture in the supporting structure is secured thereon by ,a. nut 12-; A'gcollar 1.3 is pinned to the shaft 69, but" permits thctshait 69 to be'free'ly movable'by operation of them)"- crating lever 34; Abevel gear; 74 is sli'dably keyed to the shaft'fifi by a key lfi and'aspacer ltslidably fitted-on the shaft- 69 assists-in holding the: gear 14, I asshown Fig: '5, so that the gear will slide on the shaft '69 when the" carriage" cradle is moved to and fro "by rotation of theknurled berth Another bevel gear Tl has the" carriage'lever Iii-(Fig 3) pinnedthereto; A'stud W. issecm'ed to "a web portion 19 of the carriage 31 1 Both of said bevel gears-are'in' engagement with ea'ch other; lt'will" be 4 seen-thatrotation'or'. operation of the operating lever 34 indirection ofthe arrow Xwillcause'the carriage to-move? to the rightwdu'e toirotation or the-rbevel'gear flonthe shaft 69: When the operatingieverMisreleased, the spring 35" (Fig; 3) WilFdI'BIW the'carriage lever-l M0 the left, therebycausing'thetcarriageto hie-restored to normal on the carriageicradle;

An adjustment screws nisthreadedly comiected tothe carriagecradle 32'with one end of said adjustment screw being rotatably mounted on an and member of the supporting structure and terminating' in a lmurledmember 8.1; so that rotation of the knurledmember will" causethe carriage cradle can) be positioned relative to the holding' spindles foracceptance of'forms having varying dimensions."

Theend-"aidjustment guide 29 hasslot'srormed on the" opposing bent portions thereof so that headedf'screws 82 'may be'loos'ened of tightened as en'd Y adjusting gamers is positioned fer the particular adjustment desired for an engage men": of thestackof form's:

Thebottonradjustineht guid fl hasa headd screw ee-whicn slide'sin *asl'ot emandtermin-tes in an'ut *84," which nut rides in"a"g-uide" channel SB SeCure'd-to th'eunuemesth su raee br the neat panel 22; Guide slides" B6"areformed-in-the front panelto stabilize and position the'hottoin adjustment guide 36 for the particular tom's to-be softed' ah'd selected; i

rrom roregoia' irili 'pe seir t ee-me present invehtlonutilizes "antique means for he sorting orl s electingpf rest at or'arbitra mixedforms-"which forins nia v e oi" via-ads mensions, but *onall formsfthereareppenihgs including slotsat the 'oppositeedges where-m an aperture is utilized to'retainfc aihTiorinsff in the 'stackby' meansfof holdingfs nd es," nd; slot on the sameedge' to permit the selected sheets to be withdrawn from thestackQ ruioiiposite edge of the stack of forms has apertures for engagement by the pulling-spindles of the selected group; or combination-of-.gioups or forms, with aseriesofslots "orw'elongated-islot transverse 'to the pulling end-ofthe forms to per-'- mit the pulling spindle or spmals wmevmtb their operative 'positionand l engage the apertures of the selected forms to be withdrawn from the stack.

Further, there are adjustment guides for engagement with one edge of the stack of forms and for engagement with the bottom of the stack of forms. vBoth of said adjustment means being variable positionally to adapt them to the particular forms to be separated. It is also pointed out that the inclination of the front panel while shown at one angle may vary'in difierent adaptations of the machine, depending upon dimensional characteristics of the sheets or forms to be sorted or selected.

Further, from the foregoing, it will be seen that the machine for sorting and selecting forms utilizes a holding spindle mechanism and a pulling spindle mechanism, each of which has a plurality of spindles. Any pair of spindles consisting of one of the holding spindles and a complementary pulling spindle maybe simultaneously operated by a selecting means which operates a control bar for urging the said pair of spindles upwardly to an operative position for .engaging the forms selected to permit the pulling spindle to at least partially withdraw the selected forms from the'stack of forms. The selected forms which may be selected by the simultaneous operation of two or more .of the selecting levers permits multiple operation for sorting and selecting the particular forms or groups of forms desired. While the drawing of Fig. 1 shows the selected forms partially withdrawn from the stack of forms, it is to be understood that the selected forms may be completely withdrawn from the stack of forms, de-

pending on the physical characteristics of the forms and/or the physical characteristics of the machine embodying the invention. The inclined supporting member or front panel 22, objectively set forth, is actually a loading rack or platform which may have any angular inclination or tilt to facilitate and assure proper registration or alignment of the apertures, such as slots and perforations in the forms, for the insertion of the holding and pulling spindles therethrough.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent by the United States 1. A machine for sorting and selecting forms, comprising a plurality of pairs of holding and pulling spindles, said pulling spindles being carried in a movable carriage, all of said spindles being reciprocal, and bars extending between respective pairs of spindles and engageable therewith, including means for selectively reciprocating said bars to simultaneously reciprocate respective pairs of said spindles, said bars being slidably related to said carriage and passing therethrough, whereby said carriage may be moved so as to effect motion of said pulling spindles with respect to said holding spindles.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for selectively reciprocating said bars comprises respective levers each terminating in a manually operable button at one end and in pivotal connections with respective bars at the other end.

3. A machine for sorting and selecting forms as set forth in claim 1, including detent fingers carried by said spindles and engageable with detent plates, there being a detent plate common to said holding spindles and a detent'plate common to said pulling spindles, including means for efiecting release of said detent plate from engagement with the respective spindles.

4. A machine for sorting and selecting forms as set forth in claim 1, including means for reciprocating said carriage comprising a pivot pin thereon, a rockable lever having a slot engageable with said'pin, and means for rocking said lever. '5. A machine for sorting and selecting forms as set forth in claim 1, including an adjustable cradle reciprocatingly supporting said carriage, a rotative splined shaft, said cradle being adjustably movable with respect to said shaft, a driving member slidable on said shaft and rotative therewith and movable with said cradle, and means engaging said driving member and said carriage for transmitting motion therebetween when said shaft is rotated.

6. A machine for sorting and selecting forms comprising a base, a plurality of holding spindles carried by said base and reciprocal with respect thereto, a cradle carried by said base and slidably adjustable therein, a carriage carried in said cradle and slidably reciprocal therein, a plurality of pulling spindles mounted for reciprocation in said carriage, said holding and pulling spindles being aligned in pairs, and means for selectively reciprocating said pairs comprising a bar for each of said pairs and movable therewith, including means for actuating said bars to simultaneously reciprocate respective pairs of spindles,

said bars passing slidably through said cradle.

'7. A machine for sorting and selecting forms, comprising a plurality of holding and pulling spindles, said spindles having free ends and means providing axial reciprocal motion of said spindles, a table having a surface for supporting a pile of forms, said spindles being normally disposed on the other side of said table whereby said free ends may protrude reciprocally therethrough to engage perforations in said forms, there being openings in said table to accommodate said free ends, including means for transporting said pulling spindles with respect to said holding spindles, wherein said pulling and holding spindles are aligned in pairs, a pulling spindle and a holding spindle constituting each pair, and

.an actuating bar for each of said pairs disposed below said table and engageable with the lower- -most ends of the respective spindles, including .means for selectivel moving said bars so as to efiect protruding of the free ends of selected pairs of said spindles above the surface of said table.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for selectively reciprocating said bars comprises a bell crank lever for each of said bars, said levers terminating in pivotal connections with respective bars, including a base for supporting said levers and said bars, said levers having pivotal connections with said base and having portions extending beyond said base to provide access for manual operation.

9. A machine, as set forth in claim 8, including a stud on each of said levers engageable with respective bars for support thereof when said bars are at a rest position.

JOSEPH ZALKIND.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 999,991 Hargrave Aug. 8, 1911 2,270,896 Rippon Jan. 27, 1942 2,359,705 Zalkind Oct. 3, 1944 2,483,035 Burns Sept. 2'7, 1949 

